Mechas vs Monsters!

Rating: 7/10 (16 May 2015)

In the near future giant monsters known as kaiju start attacking cities around the Pacific Rim, they have come through an interdimensional portal called 'The Breach'. The kaiju are virtually impervious to attacks from normal weapons so giant robots known as Jaegers are constructed; each is piloted by two pilots who must link minds to control their Jaeger. At first it looks as if humanity has gained the upper hand but things get worse and soon only a few Jaegers remain. Working out of Hong Kong their leader, Stacker Pentecost, brings ex-pilot Raleigh Becket, who is haunted by the loss of his brother/co-pilot, back into the Jaegers where he is partnered with new pilot Mako Mori. As the attacks increase in frequency the remaining Jaegers will have to attempt to destroy the breach; a dangerous mission which if they fail could be the end of mankind.
Even though I'd heard good things about this film I wasn't expecting anything too great and as it started I soon thought all the tedious clichés would be appearing again many of them did but I also found myself enjoying the film. The cast doesn't include many well-known actors; the only two I recognised were Idris Elba and Ron Perlman and the latter only has a small role. This didn't matter though as they all did a decent job. Charlie Hunnam may be playing a cliché action hero as Raleigh but he makes the character sympathetic and Rinko Kikuchi is likable as Mako. Also notable are Charlie Day and Burn Gorman who provide some levity as scientists Dr. Newton Geiszler and Dr. Hermann Gottlieb. While the story and characters are good this film is really about the action between the kaiju and the jaegers and I must say it was pretty impressive even when watched on a small screen cities are devastated and at one point a jaegers beats a kaiju with a ship! Overall this might not be the greatest of films but if you are looking for large scale action involving giant robots you could do a lot worse and as there is little to cause offence it can be enjoyed by younger viewers too.